The Bachman Books

pushed a button and the door slid open. Richards got back into the cart and they were trundled into the room beyond.

'Where's my card?' Richards asked.

'You don't need it anymore. '

They were in a control room. The console section was empty except for a bald technico who was sitting in front of a blank monitor screen, reading numbers into a microphone.

Across to the left, Dan Killian and two men Richards hadn't met were sitting around a table with frosty glasses. One of them was vaguely familiar, too pretty to be a technico.

'Hello, Mr. Richards. Hello, Arthur. Would you care for a soft drink, Mr. Richards?'

Richards found he was thirsty; it was quite warm on ten in spite of the many airconditioning units he had seen. 'I'll have a Rooty-Toot,' he said.

Killian rose, went to a cold-cabinet, and snapped the lid from a plastic squeezebottle. Richards sat down and took the bottle with a nod.

'Mr. Richards, this gentleman on my right is Fred Victor, the director of The Running Man. This other fellow, as I'm sure you know, is Bobby Thompson. '

Thompson, of course. Host and emcee of The Running Man. He wore a natty green tunic, slightly iridescent, and sported a mane of hair that was silvery-attractive enough to be suspect.

'Do you dye it?' Richards asked.

Thompson's impeccable eyebrows went up. 'I beg pardon?'

'Never mind,' Richards said.

'You'll have to make allowances for Mr. Richards, ' Killian said, smiling. 'He seems afflicted with an extreme case of the nudes.'

'Quite understandable,' Thompson said, and lit a cigarette. Richards felt a wave of unreality surge over him. 'Under the circumstances. '

'Come over here, Mr. Richards, if you please,' Victor said, taking charge. He led Richards to the bank of screens on the other side of the room. The technico had finished with his numbers and had left the room.

Victor punched two buttons and left-right views of The Running Man set sprang into view.

'We don't do a run-through here,' Victor said. 'We think it detracts from spontaneity. Bobby just wings it, and he does a pretty damn good job. We go on at six o'clock, Harding time. Bobby is center stage on that raised blue dais. He does the lead-in, giving a rundown on you. The monitor will flash a couple of still pictures. You'll be in the wings at stage right, flanked by two Games guards. They'll come on with you, armed with riot guns. Move-alongs would be more practical if you decided to give trouble, but the riot guns are good theater.'

'Sure,' Richards said.

'There will be a lot of booing from the audience. We pack it that way because it's good theater. Just like the killball matches.'

'Are they going to shoot me with fake bullets?' Richards asked. 'You could put a few blood bags on me, to spatter on cue. That would be good theater, too. '

'Pay attention, please,' Victor said. 'You and the guards go on when your name is called. Bobby will, uh, interview you. Feel free to express yourself as colorfully as you please. It's all good theater. Then, around six-ten, just before the first Network promo, you'll be given your stake money and exit-sans guards-at stage left. Do you understand?'

'Yes. What about Laughlin?'

Victor frowned and lit a cigarette. 'He comes on after you, at six-fifteen. We run two contests simultaneously because often one of the contestants is, uh, inadept at staying ahead of the Hunters.'

'With the kid as a back-up?'

'Mr. Jansky? Yes. But none of this concerns you, Mr. Richards. When you exit stage left, you'll be given a tape machine which is about the size of a box of popcorn. It weighs six pounds. With it, you'll be given sixty tape, clips which are about four inches long. The equipment will fit inside a coat pocket without a bulge. It's a triumph of modern technology.'

'Swell. '

Victor pressed his lips together. 'As Dan has already told you, Richards, you're a contestant only for the masses. Actually, you are a working man and you should view your role in that light. The tape cartridges can be dropped into any mailslot and they will be delivered express to us so we can edit them for airing that night. Failure to deposit two clips per day will result in legal default of payment. '

'But I'll still be hunted down.'

'Right. So mail those tapes. They won't give away your location; the Hunters operate independently of the broadcasting section.'

Richards had his doubts about that but said nothing.

'After we give you the equipment, you will be escorted to the street elevator. This gives directly on Rampart Street. Once you're there, you're on your own.' He paused. 'Questions?'

'No. '

'Then Mr. Killian has one more money detail to straighten out with you.'

They walked back to where Dan Killian was in conversation with Arthur M. Burns. Richards asked for another Rooty-Toot and got it.